Tag: history

Leave a comment

As the Herald insists island communities deserve ferry services that are fit for purpose how the Scottish Government transformed their economies in 2020

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA The above chart from the Evaluation of Road Equivalent Tariff [RET] on the Clyde and Hebridean Network Prepared for Transport Scotland March 2020 reveals a massive increase in ferry usage to the islands with a consequent economic boost, but increasing costs for the taxpayer in lost revenue. The comparison is based on ticket sales only and takes no account of retail revenue, which is likely to have increased as a result of the increased numbers of passengers. What is the RET? In October 2008, Transport Scotland introduced the Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) fares policy as a pilot on … Continue reading As the Herald insists island communities deserve ferry services that are fit for purpose how the Scottish Government transformed their economies in 2020

2 Comments

Justice secretary able to call for emergency prisoner release as released prisoners are now 27% less likely to re-offend than they were when Labour was in power

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson, OBA From BBC Scotland today: Around 470 prisoners could be released early from Scottish prisons by the end of the year. Justice secretary Angela Constance has asked parliament to pass emergency legislation that would see short-term prisoners – within 180 days of their release date – to be freed in tranches in November and December. It is the third time early release has been used in this way in Scotland since last summer. Constance said the move was necessary to prevent overcrowding after the prison population “surged” in the last three months. In a statement to MSPs, … Continue reading Justice secretary able to call for emergency prisoner release as released prisoners are now 27% less likely to re-offend than they were when Labour was in power

5 Comments

Local community activists in a small US state remind us why we must oppose Labour’s nuclear plans for Scotland

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson, OBA Yesterday, in a report from the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, a grassroots environmentalist group with 7 000 members, in the US state of Iowa alone: Sierra Club Iowa Chapter urges legislators and the public to oppose the restart of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant and to support Iowa’s transition to safe, clean, and renewable energy sources. On September 29, 2025, the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club hosted a press conference to address NextEra Energy’s proposal to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear plant, which has been in decommissioning since 2020. Experts in nuclear energy, public health, … Continue reading Local community activists in a small US state remind us why we must oppose Labour’s nuclear plans for Scotland

Leave a comment

Different NHS Scotland rejects England’s hostile healthcare environment for vulnerable migrant women

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From the Guardian today, the above, and: The UK [sic] has been accused of a “stark injustice” for failing to provide health services and humanitarian support to citizens of British overseas territories after a woman from the Caribbean island of Montserrat was refused free NHS care and left homeless. Council officials found Cherry Brown, 69, sleeping rough in a park in Swanley, Kent, in April. Brown had been funded by the Montserratian government – whose budget is largely subsidised by the UK – to travel to England to receive treatment from the NHS that was not available at home. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/01/uk-montserrat-british-overseas-territory-citizens-injustice-donaldson-romeo The situation … Continue reading Different NHS Scotland rejects England’s hostile healthcare environment for vulnerable migrant women

3 Comments

Fuel poverty – in Scotland, it need not be this way.

johnrobertson834

Will it be food in the house? Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland in their BBC Breakfast insert have the above story minus of course the hugely significant consideration that, in Scotland, it need not be this way. In August 2025, we had the information. As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us and why Scots would pay far less after independence As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Scots would pay far less once independent. From stewartb in June 2025: I fear that a majority of the electorate in Scotland still have NO IDEA … Continue reading Fuel poverty – in Scotland, it need not be this way.

6 Comments

How’s the mood there in Liverpool? Well the drug gangs are enjoying the one-way trade making millions and keeping Scotland’s drug deaths up

johnrobertson834

With only 2 days left, support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – John Robertson, Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland are in Liverpool today for the Labour Party Conference but they haven’t managed to pin Anas down for some tough questions about his boss or the numerous sex -offenders he hosts. Will their BBC Liverpool colleagues be asking how Glasgow has managed to get such a low crime rate since the SNP took over? Eurovision Decision: Liverpool has nearly twice the … Continue reading How’s the mood there in Liverpool? Well the drug gangs are enjoying the one-way trade making millions and keeping Scotland’s drug deaths up

8 Comments

Ferret journalists far more than ‘slightly’ wrong on Pete Wishart’s accurate claim that English drug deaths are ‘written out of figures’ when UK civil servants estimated 25% undercounting in 2023!

johnrobertson834

With only 2 days left, support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – John Robertson, Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Bob Lamont for alerting me to this: The Ferret on 24 September 2025, concluded: Pete Wishart is wrong to say that “thousands of deaths in England simply written out of the figures”. The statistics on the total number of drug-related deaths in England are not in question, but new research has found undercounting in the proportion of deaths that … Continue reading Ferret journalists far more than ‘slightly’ wrong on Pete Wishart’s accurate claim that English drug deaths are ‘written out of figures’ when UK civil servants estimated 25% undercounting in 2023!

1 Comment

A handful of assaults and damage to property in the Scottish news every day – the Scottish ‘gangland feud’ is dwarfed by the massive plague of extreme drug gang violence and surging overdoses from England’s cities but this is hidden from you

johnrobertson834

With only 2 days left, support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – John Robertson, Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA The Record today making much of a crime wave tiny in the wider context of the English County Lines drug gangs plaguing Scotland. What is the list of crimes affecting Scotland? This: Timeline: How the gang feud developed Very upsetting, I know, for all involved but only damage to property and no serious violence, no deaths. How does the above compare with the … Continue reading A handful of assaults and damage to property in the Scottish news every day – the Scottish ‘gangland feud’ is dwarfed by the massive plague of extreme drug gang violence and surging overdoses from England’s cities but this is hidden from you

4 Comments

Drug deaths falling sharply for 5 years and treatment beating 90% target for 4 years suggests that the ‘sorry state’ is of journalism in the Sunday Post

johnrobertson834

With only 2 days left, support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – John Robertson, Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA The Sunday Post has the above in direct contradiction of the facts of drug addiction in Scotland in recent years, ignoring what is ‘the’ news, the trends. First, drug deaths are falling in Scotland while surging elsewhere in the UK Even ignoring the above doubts, drug deaths are surging in England & Wales as they plummet in Scotland England and Wales: Scotland: Drug … Continue reading Drug deaths falling sharply for 5 years and treatment beating 90% target for 4 years suggests that the ‘sorry state’ is of journalism in the Sunday Post

Leave a comment

‘Total panic’: the effect of no-fault evictions on renters in England has not applied in Scotland since the SNP Government abolished them in 2016 and is not the only way in which life is better here

johnrobertson834

With only 2 days left, support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – John Robertson, Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian yesterday, the above and: When Sarah Ladyman was made redundant from her job as a horticulturist earlier this year, her one-bedroom flat was her sanctuary. Then, her landlord attempted to raise her monthly rent from £775 to £900. She took her case to a rent tribunal – only to be served with a no-fault eviction notice. No-fault eviction notices – … Continue reading ‘Total panic’: the effect of no-fault evictions on renters in England has not applied in Scotland since the SNP Government abolished them in 2016 and is not the only way in which life is better here